NASA-sponsored program completes Artemis ROADS National Challenge

The Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathways (NESSP) program wrapped up the 2022-23 Artemis ROADS National Challenge last month, with nearly 300 middle and high school student teams from 21 states participating.

Central Washington University hosted one of the NASA-sponsored events June 2, welcoming 80 students and 10 mentors from Washington and Oregon to the Ellensburg campus for a chance to showcase their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills.

Teams from Sammamish, Ephrata, Mukilteo, and Tillamook, Oregon, showed off what they had learned, and three of the teams-Artemis Rogues (Sammamish), SUS (Mukilteo), and Las Estrellas (Ephrata)-won a trip to the Kennedy Space Center this fall, joining about 70 other participants from around the country.

Participants also got to connect directly with NASA scientists and engineers through NESSP's NASA Expert talks. At the conclusion of the challenge, students were given an opportunity to meet astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger.

"What these students have accomplished is truly impressive, and it's been really fun to see how they tackled each of the mission objectives," said Dr. Darci Snowden, director of the NESSP program and an associate professor of physics at CWU. "These programs are important for students because they teach teamwork and project-based learning."

The Artemis ROADS National Challenge took place from December 2022 until late June. As part of the competition, teams were challenged to complete nine mission objectives related to NASA Artemis Missions, which will send humans back to the moon. Participating students observed lunar phases, investigated the challenges of living on the moon's surface, and attempted to grow plants in closed environments or terrariums.

They also determined what they would pack on a trip to the moon, learned to fly a drone alone on of the Artemis trajectories, and designed and built rovers capable of collecting samples and driving up steep surfaces. Students completed the final challenge mission at one of NESSP's seven in-person hub events-including the June 2 competition at CWU-or submitted their results virtually.

"What the students do in the ROADS challenge mimics how scientists and engineers accomplish huge feats in the real-world, like the recent successful launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket," Snowden said. "NESSP does everything it can to support students and educators, so that no STEM-loving student is excluded from participating in a potentially life-changing STEM program like this one."

Snowden added that the Artemis ROADS program is also designed to enhance skills and provide classroom resources to K-12 teachers through its professional development workshops and five-unit companion course. (ROADS stands for "Rover Observation And Drone Survey.")

NESSP partners with 12 organizations throughout the country and the Northwest to provide students and teachers with innovative and informative educational materials that engage student interest in STEM. The organization also supports community-based science and engineering events, in partnership with underserved and underrepresented communities.

To learn more about NESSP and its involvement in the Artemis ROADS National Challenge, visit nwessp.org or email info@nwessp.org.